Call to Order: A meeting of the General Membership of the Weston Middle School PTO was held on January 9, 2018. WMS President Britta Lerner presided and Jennifer Morse served as Secretary.

Reports of the Executive & General Boards:

Approval of Minutes: A motion to waive the approval of the November minutes to the February 2018 general board meeting was made by Britta Lerner and seconded by Hillary Koyner. Motion Passed

Treasurer’s Report: Tammy Roberts

· A motion to approve the December 2017 Operating and Philanthropy Reports was made by Sam Leuzzi and seconded by Catherine Revzon. Motion Passed

President’s Report: Britta Lerner

· The process for students to retrieve items from lost and found will be reviewed and updated.

Vice President’s Report/BOE Report: Sandy Hart

· Dr. McKersie sent a letter to parents outlining the budget process.

· On 1/19 at 9:45 am, Dr.McKersie will present the budget to all four PTO’s.

o Dates to remember:

§ 1/16: 1st budget meeting – budget is presented to the BOE

§ 1/18: Q&A session

§ 1/24: BOE votes to ratify the budget

Principal’s Report: Dan Doak

· The Tri M music honor society students sold holiday telegrams and raised $644 to be donated to St Jude and KEYS

· The Student Government Association ran a successful toy drive. The toys were donated to the magnet school in Bridgeport

· Food services is exploring adding breakfast in the mornings.

Fundraising Report: Catherine Revzon and Gemma Francino-May

· A book fair is being planned for the spring. More details to come on this.

Philanthropy Report: Hillary Koyner

· A motion to approve the $1500 fee for Bruce Kapel to visit the school was made by Britta Lerner and seconded by Sara Spaulding. Mr. Kapel will perform at the high school for the 7th and 8th grade students as well as hold 3 workshops for the 8th grade French students. Motion Passed

Guest Speakers:

· The guest speakers at this meeting were representatives from Food Services to discuss food options available in the middle school cafeteria.

Announcements: The next General Meeting will be held on February 6, 2018, beginning at 9:45am.

3.) Principal’s Report: A pilot project funded last year by the WMS PTO—“Colonial Day”—was considered one of the best days on school campus with significant learning opportunities and hands-on curriculum tie-in. This has now been woven into the curriculum and is funded as part of the annual school budget. Look forward to Veteran’s Day in the Cafeteria (a living museum). Summary of the Nature’s Classroom trip. Some concerns were raised by parents about this experience. This trip and destination will be re-evaluated for next year. Encourage parents to attend the November 29th Community Coalition event.

4.) Committee Reports

President’s Report, Britta Lerner

1.) call to participate in the upcoming Phantom Gala—a new fundraising initiative and the major push for the year. Any Philanthropy projects we do will be funded largely by this event.

2.) The SRO website will be linked to the BOE website and it should be up next week. Look for information pertaining to our children’s safety and school safety updates.

Vice President, Sandy Hart.

1.) Update from most recent BOE meetings and preview of upcoming budget discussions.

Fundraising—Catherine Revzon and Gemma Francino-May

1.) Fundraiser update/help needed… BUY YOUR “TICKETS” AND SPREAD THE WORD! WE NEED 100% BOARD PARTICIPATION!!! Catherine and Gemma noted there have been $3700 in ticket sales to date.

Philanthropy—Hillary Koyner:

1.) Discussion of converting a room that currently is not used into a Tranquility room for all students to meet, discuss, do homework etc. in a peaceful, supervised setting. Cost for furniture, paint, etc. up to $3500 approved. There was some discussion as to whether or not PTO Philanthropy could fund part of the room such as materials—paint, etc. Philanthropy rules generally support ENDURING materials that will benefit the majority of students (example, wool runs out so that’s not encouraged but if you fund a loom to host a weaving class for grades, that’s ok). The purpose and materials for creation of this room were deemed to fall well within the Philanthropy mission. Motion was made by Britta Lerner to approve up to $3500. Vote passed with 2 against and remaining in favor.

2.) A second proposal was put forward for the collaboration in Screenagers. This would be a joint WHS/WMS-funded project. Parents and children 6th grade and up invited to movie screening and discussion. No fee for attendance. 100% PTO funded. Request for $325.00 Unanimously approved. See submitted Philanthropy reports for details.

*6th Grade Chair—Marlo Villepigue Field Trip to see WONDER a great success.

· The guest speakers presented the topic of study skills at the middle school level.

Unfinished Business: None

New Business: None

Announcements: The next General Meeting will be held on November 14, 2017, beginning at 9:45am.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jen Morse

Weston Middle School PTO

Weston Middle School PTO

General Meeting

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Minutes

Call to Order: A meeting of the General Membership of the Weston Middle School PTO was held on September 5, 2017. WMS President Britta Lerner presided and Jennifer Morse served as Secretary.

Reports of the Executive & General Boards:

President’s Report: Britta Lerner

· Back to School Nights start tomorrow for 6th grade

· Introduction of Executive and General Boards

Treasurer’s Report: Tammy Roberts

· See attached Operating Report and Philanthropy Report

· A motion was made by Sara Spaulding to approve the end of year financial statement and seconded by Catherine Revzon. Motion Passed

· A motion was made by Lori Goertz to move $1,978 to the Philanthropy account from the Operating account and seconded by Sara Spaulding. Motion Passed

· A motion was made by Sara Spaulding to approve the Operating budget for the 2017-2018 school year and seconded by Sandy Hart. Motion Passed

Fundraising Report: Catherine Revzon

· Weston’s Got Talent will be back this year

· Balloon and Flower fundraisers will continue

· Last year the middle school hosted the bake sale at the MDF, they will likely do this again this year.

· There is a possibility of a book fair.

· There will be a phantom gala in Ocotber.

Philanthropy Report: Britta Lerner

· There will be a meeting with Principal Doak on Friday, September 8th, there will be items for vote at the 10/3 meeting.

6th Grade Chair Report: Marlo Villepigue

· BTSN is tomorrow night

7th Grade Chair Report: Sam Leuzzi

· There will be a social event, more details to come

8th Grade Chair Report: Meri Fidel

· No report

Communications Report: Kristen Rinaldi

· A streamlined version of the Link newsletter will be sent out on Sundays

Membership/Directory: Lori Goertz

· Encourage everyone to join PTO, deadline to be in directory is 9/15.

· Sponsorships are $100 each, the deadline is 9/15.

Programs: Britta Lerner & Sandy Hart

· They will be meeting discuss program ideas for this school year.

Staff Appreciation: Darcy Barrera-Hawes

· There will be 2-3 luncheons this year, will send request for food items. The luncheons are sponsored by the different grades.

Guest Speakers:

Principal Dan Doak:

· Introduction of Mr Walters, assistant principal

· The chrome book rollout has started, they will receive an initation and are asked to charge at home overnight. If there is a problem with a chrome book there will be a place they can drop it off to be repaired and receive a loaner.

· There are 588 students currently, including 30 new students.

· Emotional intelligence will be a big item this year for the district and middle school. The staff received training last year, will be rolled out to students this year.

· They will be looking for opportunites for community service

· Student activity site will be updated

Assistant Principal Dru Walters:

· There are new options available in the cafeteria. The number of students buying lunch has increased.

· 6th grade has recess first; 7th and 8th have lunch first

Superintendent Dr. William McKersie:

· It has been a good start to the year. Convocation was held last Tuesday, August 29th.

· In the next week a list of goals for the district will be sent out.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Ken Craw:

· This year there will be science curriculum enhancements

· The current writing program will be reviewed by the tri-state consortium

Unfinished Business: None

New Business: None

Announcements: The next General Meeting will be held on October 3, 2017, beginning at 9:45am.